Who's organised Saturdays protest?

It does put pressure on and raise awareness if done properly. No good whinging on here or fscebook, or to mates in the pub, if you want things to change sometimes you have to make that happen. At least someone else is going it a go.

 

We'll have to see I suppose.

 

The momentum of what Marc?

We've had a poor season. If you listen to fans the Huddersfield Head Coach would have been sacked last season, The QPR manager would have been sacked. Rotherham's head coach would have been sacked.

Alex Mowatt wasn't a good player....

Football fans are quick to tell you when they might have said something that could have been correct.

 

Some even criticised Bobby Hassell every week so you're right some fans haven't a clue

 

What we need, Marc....is an organised protest.
Then we might have a glimmer of hope of starting to bring these charlatans to account.

 

Folk not going is the strongest protest you can make. There’s a certain irony of paying to get in the ground and protesting.

Organising a protest amongst fans when most against the current regime have, in the main, stopped attending reduces the number of those willing to protest.

The fewer people protesting isn’t a sign that all is well, simply that apathy and staying away has set in amongst a large section of the fan base.

 

@Marc I agree with most of that. The problem we have is that BFC was almost a free hit for these guys.

I think it will end up in administration. As you say these guys are playing with peoples lives and livelihoods.

I love Barnsley FC but find the approach adopted to running our club by the owners unpalatable.

 

The logical answer to that (and I am not for one minute saying it is viable or desirable) would be to protest outside the ground without going in to watch the (mis)match especially if the media could be persuaded to cover the protest. Whilst noise from outside ground during the match would possibly affect the players , since we are relegated, the damage has already been done. As you say paying to go in seems counter productive. Nor can I separated supporting the club from supporting the owners since any revenue is being swallowed up by these owners and not re-invested.

None of my business though really since I cannot attend matches in any case.

 

To start with, just to say I don't think anyone should be ostracised or feel ostracised for making what for most on either side of the debate is a genuinely difficult and heartfelt decision. I respect the decision of those that still want to pay money in to the club and expect them to respect my decision not to.

My decision doesn't mean I don't support the club and particularly the non-playing staff below the executives. I've seen a number of comments from people that they are renewing because they don't want this group to lose their jobs. Fair enough. My reasoned view though is that this group of staff will have more job security under a different ownership. I have no doubt that the current incumbents would have no compunction in culling staff in any part of the club if they wanted.

Does NAPM mean that I think that they would do that? Well, no. Even if there was no season ticket renewals at all that would mean something like a couple of million reduced income. It wouldn't bankrupt the club, it wouldn't put the club immediately out of business but it would give the current owners the message that they, and specifically their modus operandi, aren't wanted, that they've failed and that the value of their investment is, and is going to keep, tumbling.

And given that they are experienced businesspeople (allegedly!) whose primary interests are (1) continuing to acquire stakes in clubs around Europe and (2) 'advising' other such businesspeople on acquiring similar stakes I don't think they would want to be seen to take one of their first investments into bankruptcy.

So I think that the logical conclusion of a widespread (ideally co-ordinated) NAPM approach would be to accelerate the owners to seek a sale. They paid around £6-7m for the club and despite them running it's value down to next to nowt now, they would probably still be able to attract buyers with empathy to the club and it's historic values for a price in the order of £3-4m, maybe a bit less.

That would give them a way out and a relatively small loss in the scale of things. They would, semi-legitimately, be able to spin the need to exit down to the fact that they weren't able to complete the purchase of the ground as they thought when they first came and/or Brexit stymying the way they wanted to function as part of the multi-club group.

I have no truck with the 'Conway Out' group in terms of the way they have gone about things or the substance of their pronouncements but in my own mind I do think there would be people willing to buy the club at a realistic sale price.

I could be totally and utterly wide of the mark with my thinking but I hope I have set out my reasoned position. I don't think the current situation can just continue without change otherwise it will not only be the physical substance of the club that disappears but it's soul too. So I guess I'm also motivated by the principle of "the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing".

(Just as a footnote, Marc, I also know a number of people who say they back the club and support it through thick and thin who've not been anywhere near a game or put a penny piece the club's way for donkey's years too).

 

My point was fans are the first to criticise at times and I can be in that but will never mention when they're wrong.

Hands up. I was strong on my criticism of the club at signing Cole to friends but I haven't mentioned that I wasn't best pleased the club signed Morris until I went on youtube and looked at the type of player he was. Then I was okay with it.

 

But how? They own the club, they have not broken any law or are in breach of any football or accounting rules. I get everyone's displeasure and unhappiness and I'm sure they know about it too. That doesn't mean they will or have to walk away. Who knows,they may have a new business strategy and plan.
Because they are not in the UK, the process is so much slower.